Georgia Hotel to Develop Wetlands After 11th Circuit Dismissal

A Georgia hotel owner may proceed with a wetland development project after a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that environmental groups failed to establish the contested area as federal waters covered under the Clean Water Act.

The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by the Glynn Environmental Coalition and the Center for Sustainable Coast against Sea Island Acquisition LLC, finding the wetland’s proximity to a salt marsh and a creek wasn’t “sufficiently indistinguishable” for CWA protections.

This ruling employed the standard set by the US Supreme Court in the 2023 Sackett ...